LOS ANGELES (AP) — Organizers say thousands danced in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds chanted in South Africa, carrying signs and candles. The Philippines held a 24-hour dance party.
These events are among hundreds taking place Thursday as part of One Billion Rising, an international call led by Eve Ensler's V-Day organization to end violence against women and girls.
Ensler announced the campaign last year, urging women and men around the world to walk out of work or school on Feb. 14 and dance to raise awareness of the troubling U.N. statistic that one in three women worldwide will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.
Stateside events include a Zumba dance party with Jane Fonda in Los Angeles and a rally led by Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter Bernice A. King in Atlanta.
